


Corn Mazes

by lol2468lol



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe, Indiana, Multi, OCs - Freeform, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-26 07:14:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9873017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lol2468lol/pseuds/lol2468lol
Summary: For the last few years, Nina Stevens has lived a fun, happy-go-lucky life in a small Indiana town. However, for the last month, she's been stalked by a strange blonde man. When she finally decides to confront him, he says his name is Alfred.F Jones, the human representative of America, and that she is actually Nina. H Jones, the human representation of Indiana, and she was one of a handful of state reps that had gone missing.Of course, Nina just thinks he's crazy and beats him up a bit with the help of her pepper spraying best friend Abby.But, not long after, some odd things begin to happen to and around Nina that really make her question just how crazy Alfred really is.





	1. Crazy

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU with the states in it. Of course, the states that appear are going to be my OCs, unless I say otherwise in the chapter. This is also my first fan fiction in a long time, so please be easy on me ^-^'

“Hey, have you heard? There’s a new sweets shop downtown.”  
Sounds nice.  
“I really think we should try going there, you know? I hear it's really good. They have red velvet cupcakes too, you like those right?”  
Uh-hmm.  
“Oi, Nina, are you listening?” A light shove jared Nina a bit, before she simply smiled.  
“Yeah, I am.” The young blond nodded, “You were talking about that new shop, right? The one that Haley got those cookies she brought in today from, right? Eh...What was the name again...?” She paused walking for a moment to think, humming. “Well, it doesn’t matter. I’m busy today, so I can’t go.” Nina gave her friend an apologetic smile as she played with the hem of her shirt.  
“Oh yeah? What do you have better to do? You love stuffing your face.” Abby questioned.  
“Well, I’ve just gotta go home.” Nina replied, clasping her hands behind her back.  
“You’ve been going straight home a lot lately...That's not normal for you, you realize that right? You always want to goof around! What's going on?” Abby questioned, concern creeping into her tone, despite her smile.  
There's been this weird guy following me around, so my brothers worried about it...” Nina laughed a bit, shaking her head. She knew she should probably be taking the situation more seriously, but she just couldn’t. After all, it took a bit more than a small town stalker to freak her out. Sure, she was a little concerned about it, but nothing too bad had happend. The man just followed her from far away sometimes.  
“Seriously? A stalker?” Abby frowned, “That's...Mildly concerning. Do you know who it is?”  
Nina shook her head, “No, not really...He looks a little familiar, but I don’t think I’ve ever really seen him before? Maybe he just has one of those faces?”  
“And what does that face look like?” Abby started looking around, taking note of any of the males around them. She seemed to be more concerned than Nina was. But, of course she was. Nina and Abby had been best friends for the last three years, so it was normal that they’d show concern for her.  
“Well, he’s got this short blonde hair, right? And I think he has a cowlick too, but he’s never really that close so I can’t tell for sure...He also has blue eyes and glasses.” Nina thought back a bit, “He’s always hiding out though. It took me a while to notice he was even following me. It's a little creepy, but I guess it's hard to get worried? He doesn’t look like a creepy guy...” She chuckled.  
“Well, he sounds like most every guy in town...Man, blond hair and blue eyes really aren't’ that uncommon around here, eh?” Abby laughed a bit herself, “Just be careful, alright? Even if he doesn’t look like a creep, he’s still following you.”  
“Yeah, I know.” Nina nodded, “But honestly, I’d love to see him try something. Even from far away, I can tell he’s an outtatowner. Definitely from out of state too. Seriously, he actually stopped to look at a tractor...”  
“Really?” Abby laughed a bit, “Well, I guess some people aren’t used to just seeing those in the street, right?”  
“But it's normal, isn’t it?” Nina laughed. She knew her state was a bit weird. After all, even if a kid came to school driving a tractor, no one thought much about it. They just didn’t really want to park by them. But, for anyone who had grown up in Indiana, especially in the northern and southern regions, things like that were just normal.  
“Maybe he’s from central? Those guys are so annoying, aren’t they?” Abby adjusted her bag a bit, “I mean, just because they’re more industrial then us, we’re suddenly the hicks? They’re just spoiled...”  
“Well, where he’s from doesn’t really matter much. Either way, until it blows over, Kyle wants me to come straight home after school.” Nina replied, “He’s pretty overprotective, but I guess I see where he’s coming from...But come on. This is a small town, right? It’s gotta be one of the safest places to be. It's not like we’re in Fort Wayne or Indy.”  
Abby nodded, “Still. Bad things can happen in small towns. Watch a movie sometime.” She smiled, “But, that reminds me...Think you could sneak out Saturday night?”  
“Hmm...Depends...What we do’en?” Nina asked, swinging her bag with a small smirk.  
“A group of kids from schools getting together to play Slenderman.” Abby replied, “In the woods at the park.”  
“Hmm...Deadmen's woods, huh?” Nina kept her smirk, “Yeah, I think I can make it. You know I love Slenderman.”  
“You love breaking the rules and scaring the scarer.” Abby laughed, “We’re meeting at ten, so make sure you’re there, alright?”  
“I’ll do my best.” Nina smiled, “Though, it would be great if this stalker thing was cleared up by then so I wouldn’t even have to sneak out.”  
“Yeah...Well, this is where we split, huh?” Abby stopped at the corner, “Do you want me to walk with you to your house? It's still a while away, isn’t it?”  
“I’ll be fine. Seriously, you’re more worried about this guy then I am, huh?” Nina laughed, “Just go home yourself. I’ll be home in less than two minutes, it’ll be fine.”  
“Alright.” Abby nodded, “But, if he comes up to you, knock him out before he can even open his mouth!” She made a fist and held it up, “Teach him not to stalk pretty girls!”  
“I’ll be sure to.” Nina nodded, “Now, hurry and get home.” She turned her back on her friend, giving a short wave before starting to walk.  
It took her a moment to notice, but she started to feel her neck tingle. She was being watched again. It was starting to get too familiar.  
But, she didn’t stop walking and just kept going, keeping an eye out for the male.  
There he was. On the other side of the street. Go figure. He seemed to follow her more often these last few days. Did he really not have anything better to do than to follow a teenager around all day?  
She knew it was a bad idea, and her brother had warned her against it, but she was getting annoyed. And now that there were things she wanted to do, she wanted to hurry and end the situation.  
So, she quickly turned around and crossed the street, making a beeline straight for the male, her fist balled up. “Hey!” She yelled, making the man jump a bit, “Who the hell do you think ya are? Follow’en me around like this...It's annoying!”  
Nina was in front of the male now. And, like she had thought, he most definitely had a cowlick. That only annoyed her more, seeing as they matched. “Just why are you following me around anyways? And you’d better have a damn good answer, or else I’m going to kick your ass!”  
The man put his hands up in a defencive matter, giving a nervous laugh. “N-Nina, can you just calm down a second dude?”  
Nina put her fist up, “So you even know my name?! Creepy!”  
“Dude, I’ve known your name for the last like two hundred years.” The man replied, “Just chill out and let me explain, okay?”  
“Oh, yeah, sure. Dude, I don’t know who you are but-”  
“Oh! Right, course you forgot that or else you wouldn’t be freaking out!” The man laughed again, this time a normal laugh as he scratched the back of his head. “I’m Alfred. F Jones, but you’d also know me as America!” He smirked.  
Nina remained silent for a second, before she quickly stepped forward, hitting the man’s jaw as hard as she could, “I knew it! You’re nuts!” She yelled, moving back once again as the man stumbled.  
“Dude! That hurt!” He rubbed his jaw as he stood up straight, “And who are you calling crazy?! I’m your brother, you should be nicer to me.”  
“No, my brother is Kyle. Kyle Stevens. I’m Nina. Nina Stevens.” Nina replied, “But, as the creepy stalker you are, you knew that, right?” Nina asked, getting ready to hit him again. She was going to beat this guy until he stopped following her.  
“No, you’re Nina. H Jones, the human representation of Indiana. Around four years ago, you went missing.” The man, Alfred, replied. “The others and I have been trying to find you, and of course the other states that went missing too, but we haven’t had any luck until recently.”  
That made Nina pause for a moment. Four years ago was when she had woken up from a coma, without any of her memories from the last thirteen years. But, obviously, there was no way in hell this guy was telling the truth. It just was crazy. She stepped forward and hit him again quickly, before moving back.  
“You even looked into my medical records!? Dude, you’re getting more punchable by the second!” Nina yelled, before she heard running footsteps, turning around.  
Abby was running over quickly. Nina guessed she heard the yelling and had turned back.  
Alfred rubbed his jaw again, “Nina, you need to stop doing that. You’re way stronger than a normal human, ya know? Though, then again I’m tougher than a normal human...Huh, well it still hurts!”  
That was true. Nina had noticed she had above average strength over the years, but it wasn’t anything crazy like Superman strength. She was just a little stronger than other girls, and even most other boys, her age. But, it definitely had to come from helping out at her friend Talia's family farm so often.  
“Good! You’re really messing up my life right now with your whole stalker thing! My brother won’t even let me go out with friends after school, ya know? It's a pain!” Nina kept her fists balled and ready for the next hit as Abby came up beside her, fumbling with something in her bag.  
“Dude, you’re making a scene!” Alfred sighed, before Abby pulled out a small canister, spraying him in the face with the contents, making him give a short, pained yell.  
Pepper spray.  
“G-get away from Nina you creep!” Abby yelled, though it didn’t take a detective to notice she was shaking. Of course, thinking about it, Nina noticed the male in front of them was rather big and muscular looking. Of course, it wasn’t like an over the top body builder bod, but it was still a bit intimidating.  
Alfred pulled off his glasses, rubbing his eyes, “Jesus christ! That stings!”  
Abby, rather than giving a response, just grabbed Nina’s wrist and started running as quickly as she could, dragging her friend behind her, heading for Nina’s house.  
Nina ran along with her, but glanced back at the male. Alfred was crazy, obviously. But, now she was more concerned that she had been. Had he just pulled the “four years” out of his ass? Or had he looked into her medical records somehow?  
But, for now, that didn’t matter. The minute Nina got home, she planned on telling her brother about the meeting and then she’d figure out what to do next. Calling the cops was probably the most basic thing, but somehow, she felt like that wouldn't help.  
The back of her mind was nagging her though. She really did feel like she knew Alfred from somewhere. His name sounded familiar, but it was also so generic. The name he gave her for herself sounded familiar too, but she couldn’t put her finger on it either. But, if he really did know her, then when had they met?  
Was he really her brother?  
No way in hell. Kyle was her brother.  
Then why did Alfred say he was?  
Because he was crazy, of course. He said he was a country, and that Nina was a state. That man was clearly not right in the head.  
Then why didn’t it sound wrong? Was Nina going crazy too?  
No, it was just because it was so crazy that it didn’t seem crazy. Alfred was just so into his own delusions, and so serious about them, that he was almost convincing.  
Did Nina want to go home and eat ice cream rather than think too much about Sir Crazy Pants?  
Yes she did.  
Was she going to be able to the minute Kyle found out that she had confronted the stalker on her own?  
Probably not.  
But, she sure as hell was going to try.


	2. Ice Cream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a small fight with her brother, Nina wants some ice cream really badly. However, when she sneaks out to get some, things don't go quite as she planed when she meets a new boy in town.

“You did what?” Abby flinched back, while Nina just folded her arms behind her head as her older brother yelled, both out of surprise and anger. Nina was pretty used to it. 

“I talked to the stalker.” Nina repeated, “Dude was nuts. I beat up on him a bit, and Abby peppered him. Then we ran. He wasn’t violent or anything...Just nuts.” 

“I told you to stay away from him and let me handle it!” Kyle groaned in annoyance with his little sister, flopping down on the couch. 

“I have things I want to do, so I figured I’d beat him up until he left me alone.” Nina shrugged, flopping down across from him. 

When the two were near each other, it wasn’t hard to see a few similarities in their appearances. It wasn’t a stretch to think they were related, but siblings seemed a bit far off. They looked more like cousins than anything else. 

Kyle, like Nina, had blond hair. His was cut short normally, but it was fluffy, always poofing out around his ears in waves. Kyle’s eyes were narrow and serious looking at almost all times, with a honey colored hazel color. His skin was rather pale, seeing as he didn’t go outside nearly as much as most boys his age. Kyle preferred to stay in and study, taking online classes for college. 

He was rather tall, standing just under six feet. He was lean, but he was naturally muscular. Kyle didn’t work out often, once a month as most, but he didn’t really see the need to either. On his left shoulder blade, he had a scar that was about three inches long. He hadn’t told Nina how he got it, allways just telling her “You’ll know when you’re memories finally come back.” Every time she asked. That answer, of course, annoyed Nina to no end, but she accepted it. Kyle really seemed to want to get her memories back as soon as possible, and shared her frustration that she hadn’t remembered a single thing yet. 

Nina, on the other hand, differed slightly in appearance. Like Kyle, her hair was blond. Of course, that color of hair was rather common where they lived, so that didn’t say much. Her hair was mostly straight and thick, with just a few small waves here and there. For the most part, she kept it in a braid, so when she took it out, it was was wavy as it could get. Unlike Kyle, her eyes were round and a bright, sky blue color. Nina had a farmer’s tan from all of her time spent outside.

As for her height, well she may be called short, Nina was perfectly average standing at an even five foot four. Like her brother, she was lean, but she didn’t appear to be the slightest bit muscular. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t put on even the slightest bit of muscle mass, or even gain must weight. Despite this, she was still pretty strong for her age, and tended to eat anything and everything like she had ten stomachs. 

Of course, the real odd one out in the room was Abby. She wasn’t related to the siblings in any blood way, of course, so she wasn’t expected to look like either of them. 

The small girl played with her curly black hair nervously, “U-um...I-I don’t think you should be too mad at her Kyle.” She spoke up, still shaking, “I was joking when I said it, but I did tell her to beat him up...Of course, I also said if he comes up to you, not go up to him...” She sighed and glared a bit, looking at Nina, who shrugged.

“You say tomato, I hear kick his ass.” She replied with a small smirk as she sat forward, “Besides, it was fine, right? I don’t think he’ll be coming up to me again any time soon, so it all turned out well.” 

“Or he could call the cops on  _ you _ now and say you assaulted him.” Kyle rubbed his temples, “You really don’t think much, do you?” 

“I think about a lot of things. Like right now, I’m thinking about ice cream. Twenty minutes ago, I was thinking about cupcakes. Ten minutes ago, I was thinking about stalkers. Five minutes ago, I was thinking about how much this guy is annoying me and how badly I want to beat him up, well I was beating him up...Seriously, I want ice cream.” Nina stood up, stretching. “Anyone else want a bowl? Or can I just eat the whole tub?” 

“Nina, this is serious.” Kyle looked at her, his expression nothing short of annoyed. 

“And I am serious. I want ice cream. I did what I did, and there isn’t much going back on it now. And, if I’m lucky, that guy will have backed off because of this.” Nina messed with her hair a bit, “If not, I’ll worry about when something happens. I don’t see the point in stressing myself out over it now.” 

Kyle sighed, standing. “Fine. But besides school, you aren’t going to leave this house until that guy either leaves town or is arrested.” 

“Alright.” Nina shrugged, heading towards the kitchen. “Not like I wanted to do much anyways.” She paused walking a moment to look back at Abby, “Do you want some ice cream?”

Abby shook her head, “I should go home so my parents don’t freak out.” 

Nina nodded, “Right. See you at school tomorrow then?” She smiled, and Abby nodded. 

“Yeah, see you.” Abby gave a short wave, before turning on her heel and heading for the door. Nina turned around once more herself, heading to the kitchen. Kyle disappeared somewhere in the house. Where he was at the moment didn’t really matter to Nina. 

She just wanted ice cream. 

Nina walked into the kitchen, going to the fridge and opening the freezer. However, she was severely disappointed when she looked inside. 

There was no ice cream. 

But Nina  _ really  _ wanted ice cream. 

This was a conundrum. 

Nina had three options that she could think of.

     A) She could tell Kyle they were out and beg him to go get more right away.

But there was no way Kyle was going to leave her home alone after the day’s events, but there was also no way he would take her with him. So, if she did that, she wouldn’t get ice cream.

     B) She could just not have any ice cream that day.

That was simply out of the question.

     C) The only logical choice, of course, was the sneak out and get ice cream.

Yeah, she’d do that.

Nina closed the freezer with a sigh, before peeking out of the kitchen, into the living room. No sign of Kyle. She stepped out, quickly going to the door. Nina hadn’t taken off her shoes yet, so she didn’t have to worry about the time it would take her to get her boots on and laced up again. 

Slowly, she opened the door, continuing to look around to make sure Kyle wasn’t there. No sign of Kyle. With a relieved sigh, Nina stepped out into the sunlight, quietly closing the door behind her. 

Quickly, Nina started to leave the front yard, looking back her house and into the windows to make sure she wasn’t being watched. No sign of Kyle. She hurried through the yard, jumping over the short fence rather than opening the gate. Her feet landed on the road, making a soft thud. 

One more time, she looked around her, just to be safe. No sign of Kyle. It was almost funny, that she was more worried about Kyle catching her sneaking out then about her stalker issue, but that was just how her brain worked. 

If her stalker showed up again, she’d just beat up on him until he left. Nina was rather confident in her strength. But, it's not like she could just beat her brother up if they fought. They never hit each other, not that Nina could remember anyways. 

Kyle was just protective of her. And Nina could understand why. After all, she had been in one hell of an accident and had been out cold for a year. Anyone with half a brain or a heart would get protective of their sister in that situation. He barely let her start going to school again her sophomore year. 

The online classes she had to take to catch up were a pain, but she somehow managed to blow through them. Even though she couldn’t recall her memories, facts remained in her head. 

Nina was particularly good at history, especially of the United States. Indiana history was also extremely easy to recall. 

Though, her favorite subject was chemistry. The idea that one small mistake in mixing things could result in an explosion was exciting.  

Truthfully, it was her goal to cause a small explosion or make a gas more often than not. Though, she was rarely successful with how closely her teacher watched to make sure it didn’t happen. 

With a small sigh, Nina shoved her hands in her pockets, starting to walk down the road again. It only took her about ten minutes to get into town, then she’d go to triple C and get ice cream. Then, she’d go home. All together, she’d only be gone about an hour. Hopefully Kyle wouldn’t notice she was gone, but she knew she wasn’t that lucky. 

She was in for another lecture when she got home, that was for sure. But, for now all that mattered was that she got her ice cream. Besides that, Kyle’s lectures weren’t too bad. They were just boring. 

Nina glanced around a bit. There was nowhere to really hide along the road into town, and she couldn’t spot Alfred anywhere. He must have retreated for the day at least.  That was something. She wondered where that guy was even staying. There weren’t any hotels in town, but the next town over had a lot. 

That lunatic was really going through a lot of trouble just to follow Nina around. But, maybe after getting sprayed in the face and beaten up like he had been, he’d leave her alone. Maybe he’d go find some other poor kid and tell them they were a “state”. 

Then again, him just moving on wasn’t much better. Alfred needed to learn that he couldn’t just harass kids. So, it would be better if he hadn’t given up just yet. Nina still had plenty determination to beat him up. 

Nina skipped a bit, happy with that thought. The very next time she saw Alfred, she was going to beat him so badly he wouldn’t be able to even move for months. That would teach him to creep on high school kids. 

The buildings of the town started to come into view and she sped up a little more. Now there were a few people around, and so Nina put up her guard a bit more, keeping an eye out for Alfred. There were a few blondes around her, but none she didn’t know. 

Thomas Anders was with his kids on the other side of the street, most likely heading to the park. 

Louis Jefferson was simply walking a little ahead of her, his headphones on. No doubt they were up loud enough he wouldn’t hear someone if they called out to him. 

Her classmate Audrey Andrews was at her parent’s store, sweeping in front of it. Nina figured her brother Drake was around somewhere as well. 

But, no sign of Alfred. 

Nina continued along, walking past Louis, flashing him a smile as she did. The male simply nodded and smiled back in acknowledgment, continuing on his way as well. 

From anyone else’s perspective, it was just another normal peaceful day in the small town. Nina hadn’t told anyone besides Abby and her brother about Alfred, so no one would figure anything even close to stalking was happening. 

After all, it was the kind of town where you didn’t lock your doors at night because you could trust your neighbors. Parents didn’t worry about where their kids were as long as they came home when the streetlights came on. The worst crimes that happend were drunk driving or graffiti on the underpass. 

Things like stalking seemed like an issue for another town. Murder was unheard of. And kidnapping didn’t seem like a thing that happend outside of movies starring Liam Neeson. There was maybe one major crime a century in the little town. 

But, in the back of her mind, Nina had a bad feeling things were going to pick up and get a little crazy. 

She continued on her way to triple C, keeping her eyes open. Nina had never had to think too much about what was around her. Everything was so simple and familiar, and she knew almost everyone in town. Everyday was mostly routine, and nothing ever seemed to change. 

Nina stopped in front of the ice cream shop, taking a peek inside through the glass. No Alfred. 

But, there was something a little off. Rather than Jessy, the girl who normally worked the counter almost every day, there was another person standing there. 

Nina didn’t recognize him at all. 

The male was tall, standing at what looked to be just a little under six feet tall. His hair was cut short, just a little longer than a buzzcut, and a deep black color. His skin was a dark tan color. Nina couldn’t see his eyes from where she stood, the glare from his glasses covering them. However, he turned his head, staring right at her. For just a moment, Nina could see a flash of a dark color, most likely brown or some shade of hazel. 

But they looked almost black. 

The male didn’t seem suited to be wearing the brightly colored sky blue and lime green apron that was tied around his neck and waist, or the matching baseball cap that was the uniform for triple C. But, he was. 

Somehow, Nina had a really bad feeling about the male. With Alfred, it was a small flash of unease. Like when you saw an unfamiliar large dog and you weren’t sure if it would bite you or not. But, with Alfred, she somehow didn’t think he’d hurt her. 

The male behind the counter, however, was more like a lion staring her down. And Nina felt like a gazel. 

For just a moment, Nina tensed up. Every urge in her was screaming for her to run as fast as she could. But, she was frozen in place. She felt like she couldn’t breath. She couldn’t think. 

But, the moment passed and Nina collected herself. She was just a little on edge was all. 

Besides, she couldn’t run away without getting her ice cream first. 

Nina walked to the door, pulling it open. The shop was almost empty, which wasn’t too odd. Sometimes triple C was packed, sometimes it was baren. Even Jessy wasn’t always behind the counter. If there weren’t many customers coming in, you could find her sleeping in the back room. 

The male behind the counter was probably just a new hire and was covering the counter while she did just that. 

He continued to watch her as she entered, putting on a smile that was a little too fake. Nina couldn’t help but notice he looked pretty young. He must have been a part timer, probably still in high school. Nina didn’t recognize him though, and she knew almost everyone that went to her school. 

Nina went up to the counter, not taking her eyes off the male. The male’s eyes didn’t leave her either. 

“What can I get for you?” The male asked. Like his smile, his tone was cheerful.

But clearly faked and forced. 

“Oh, cookies and cream.” Nina smiled back, “In a small bowl please.” She quickly got out the money, already knowing how much it would cost, handing it to the male, who took it, putting it in the register. 

“Ah, that's your favorite, isn’t it Nina?” The male asked as he moved to scoop it. His eyes still didn't leave her.

Once again, just for a moment, Nina was frozen. 

And once again, the moment passed. 

“E-excuse me?” Nian questioned, watching him scoop her ice cream. 

“Jessy told me about you.” The male replied, “You’re Nina Stevens, right? She told me about all the regulars. You come in and almost always order cookies and cream. If you’re in a bad mood, you order both orange and vanilla. If you’re extra happy, you order cookies and cream, but in a large bowl with chocolate sauce and sprinkles.” 

Nina nodded slowly, “Oh...Yeah, I guess that's the case.” She forced a small laugh as the male flashed her another smile, handing her order to her, grabbing a spoon. 

“So, are you new in town?” Nina questioned as she took it, “I don’t think I’ve seen you around.”

The male nodded, leaning on the counter, propping himself up with his elbows. “Yup. I moved here for my dad’s work. I start school tomorrow.” He replied, “I’m a junior in highschool...You too, right? You look like you are.” 

Nina nodded a bit, “Yeah, I am...I guess we’ll probably have classes together then. There aren’t that many kids in our school. Only about a hundred.” 

“Small school.” The male kept his unnerving smile. 

Nina nodded, “Yeah...So, you know my name. What's your’s?” She asked. Nina wasn’t sure why she was still talking with him. The male didn’t just creep her out, he scared her. 

But, she was being stupid. After all, it was just a new kid in town. Nina should be friendly and nice to him. He hadn’t given her a reason not to. 

“Justin.” The male replied, not giving a last name. That didn’t matter though. After all, if they’d be in school together Nina would find out about it at some point. 

“Nice to meet you.” Nina kept her smile, “Well, I’ll be going then. I gotta get home.” she turned around, starting to walk again. When she got to the door, she pulled it open. She really needed to get home soon before Kyle noticed.

“Yeah...Stay safe and get home before dark.” The male replied, “There are some bad things out there, especially at night.” 

Nina just gave a small nod, quickly leaving. She didn’t know why, but the male’s warning had seemed almost sarcastic to her rather than caring. 

She walked a little down the street, looking down at her bowl of ice cream. Somehow, Nina didn’t want it anymore. She looked around, finding a trash can, quickly dumping the treat, before starting to jog towards her house. 

Something seriously didn’t feel right.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted ice cream really bad while writing this. Sorry it was a bit of a stupid chapter xD


	3. The Last "Normal" Day (Part One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nina wakes up after a long forgotten dream and gets ready for school. Despite recent events, it seems as though the day will play out normally, if with a few normal occurrences.

It was a miracle, but Nina had managed to get home before Kyle had noticed she was gone. She had gone the rest of the night without anything else happening. She had attempted to read and do her homework after she got home, of course failing to do so. She hadn’t fought with her brother. She ate dinner. She showered. She watched tv. She went to bed. 

It had been a normal night after she had gotten home. 

And it was had been a normal morning when she woke up. 

As her alarm blared, Nina laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Once again, she couldn’t remember her dream, just that she had one. Nina never seemed to remember her dreams anymore. 

Of course, her dreams was the least of the things she wanted to remember. 

This dream, though, had been sad. Nina’s face felt wet, and as she finally sat up, she noticed she had been crying. Quickly, she used her blanket to wipe away the tears, before she stood up. 

_ Annoying.  _

She sighed, shaking her head. Nina looked around her room a bit, once again having to get herself used to the sight. She wasn’t sure why, but every time she had woken up in it for the last four years, it hadn’t felt like her room. Nina had wanted to redecorate for a while now, but she had never quite gotten around to it. 

And so it stayed as it was. 

The walls were all a different pastel color. The wall with the door was pastel pink. The wall with the window was pastel blue. The wall with her closet was pastel yellow. The wall across from it, the one the head of her bed was against, was pastel green. The trim and ceiling were both bright light. 

She wondered how it was ever easy for her to sleep with all the bright colors. But, according to Kyle, Nina had never had an issue sleeping before her coma. 

So she acted like she didn’t have an issue now. Nina didn’t want to worry Kyle too much after all. He was worried enough as it was trying to look after her basicly on his own. Nina had only seen their parents a few times since coming out of her coma. Their father was always overseas on business, and their mother lived across the country. 

The woman didn’t want to see Nina. They had only seen each other twice since Nina woke up, and both times she insisted Nina wasn’t  _ her  _ Nina. 

Kyle said it was just because Nina acted a bit off since she had woken up. 

Nina’s father said it was because her mother was crazy, which is why he had left her. 

But, it was fine with Nina. Nina didn’t think that woman was her mother either. She didn’t see her father as her father. 

As far as Nina cared, Kyle was the only family she had. It was just her and her big brother. 

Nina slowly got out of bed, her feet brushing up against the soft white carpet, rubbing her eyes. She glanced at her clock. Six thirty. School didn’t start until eight fifteen, but the bus came at seven twenty to pick her and Abby up. 

First things first, she needed to get dressed. As much as she wanted to most days, Nina knew she couldn’t go to school in her pajamas. 

She trudged over to her closet, throwing it open. Nina didn’t really care what she wore, so she just grabbed something random. 

What she ended up with was a dark blue jean sundress. It was still warm enough to wear it, so she went with it, walking back to her bed and throwing it down. Next was a bra, a change of underwear, then white knee socks. 

It didn’t take long for her to change once she had her clothes out. She sighed a bit, pulling her hair out of her collar. 

Maybe she should do something besides a braid today. 

No, anything else was too much work. Even just letting it hang normally was too much work. Her hair would just fall in her face, or get messed up. A braid really was best, especially since she was only going to school. 

Nina went to the bathroom, grabbing her brush and looking in the mirror. 

Cousin Itt was staring back at her, like every morning.

And like she always did, she started brushing her hair, sectioning off bits at a time. Nina could hear Kyle getting around as well, though she doubted he was going to leave the house. He didn’t have work until later in the afternoon, and would probably do his classes until then. 

Once her hair was brushed, she quickly braided it back, flipping it over her shoulder. Then, she brushed her teeth.  

Next shoes. 

Nina’s boots were by her bookbag.

Where was her bookbag? 

By the front door where she had dropped it when she had gotten home. 

Unfinished homework?

She had twenty minutes on the bus to do it. There wasn’t time now. 

What time was it? 

Seven o’ five. 

Okay, maybe she had a little time, but she wasn’t going to do it. Twenty minutes on the bus should be enough. 

Or she’d just turn it in late. No big deal. 

Nina took a deep breath, before smiling. If she didn’t see Alfred today, she might be in the clear to just go to the park tomorrow without having to sneak out. After all, a day without spotting her stalker might be enough to convince Kyle. 

Or it wouldn’t be and she’d just sneak out anyways. 

Either way, she didn’t plan on missing out on a game of Slenderman. 

Nina slipped on her shoes, picking up her bright red book bag. It took her about five minutes to walk to the bus. Once there, she could talk to Abby for about ten minutes, then for twenty on the bus. 

That is if Abby got there on time. Abby was a bit of a space cadet, and it wasn’t rare for her to be late or to miss the bus completely. 

But, Nina still loved her best friend. 

One her way out, Nina grabbed the rain bucket, peeking inside. Like she had thought, it had rained the night before. She thought she heard it, but she wasn’t sure. Nina set the bucket down, making sure to keep it in the shade. If it was hot later, she’d pour the water on the flowers.

Nina left her yard, heading down the road towards the bus stop. It didn’t take her long, but she could see someone was there already. Of course, the fact that someone was standing there meant that Abby wasn’t late. Only she and Abby got on at that stop. 

But, as she got closer, she realized it was two people. 

One, like she had thought, was Abby. But, standing beside her, talking with a fake smile, was Justin. 

What was he doing there? 

Abby seemed happy enough to be talking to him though. She wasn't the slightest bit unnerved by the male like Nina had been. In fact, she was so distracted by Justin that she didn’t even notice Nina as she walked up. 

But Justin did.

“Oh, Nina. You’re at this stop too?” He took his eyes away from Abby with little effort, once again turning them on Nina. 

She wished he’d look away. 

But, she smiled, nodding. “Yeah, I’m surprised you are. I didn’t know that anyone moved in near here.” She replied.

“You two already know each other?” Abby spoke up, not taking her eyes off of Justin, who just nodded. 

“Yeah, we’ve met.” Justin nodded, still watching Nina. 

“Boo, I was hoping I could introduce you, but if you already know each other, that would be a bit redundant.” Abby laughed a little, finally looking at Nina.

“Sorry?” Nina forced a little laugh. Normally, Abby would have noticed if she was faking anything, but she didn’t seem to. She just laughed as well. Justin threw in his laugh as well. It was loud and deep. 

And just as unnerving as his smile. His eyes still hadn’t left Nina. 

“Well, I came out a bit early because I wasn’t sure when the bus came, but it's still not here, huh?” Justin spoke, leaning on the small structure that the girls normally stood under if it rained. 

“Yeah...It won’t be here for another ten minutes at least.” Nina nodded. 

“But we can all talk until then!” Abby chirped happily. 

Of course, Nina had figured it out already. Abby liked Justin. She fell for anyone with an attractive face. Hell, if she hadn’t already been biased against him, she probably would have thought Alfred was cute too. 

She might have even told Nina to believe him about the state thing. 

Of course, she hadn’t heard that part of the conversation and Nina hadn’t told her or Kyle about it. It was just too crazy.  But, if she had, and if Abby hadn’t already made up her mind to not like him, that's what would have happend. 

Well, at least Abby had a hobby, even if it involved liking any guy with a good face. 

Nina looked around a bit, hoping the bus was going to be early today. Abby kept chirping on in the background, and Justin gave her his faked toned responses. Nina didn’t pay much attention to the conversation, zoning in and out. She nodded and shook her head when she was asked something. 

She didn’t pay attention until Abby did a topic change.

“Oh! Justin, have you ever played Slenderman?” Abby questioned. The mention of her favorite nighttime activity caught Nina’s attention, of course. 

“The computer game? No, not really. I’ve seen others play it.” Justin replied, before looking at Nina. “Do you enjoy it?”

“The real version, yeah.” Nina replied with a short nod, “But I’m not a fan of the computer game myself.” 

“Real version?” Justin rose a brow, and Abby nodded. 

“Yeah! You go out into the woods with friends and flashlights. Beforehand, the person whose Slender Man hides notes, and then the other players have to find them without Slenderman catching them. If he touches you, you're out and have to wait for the others to either collect all the notes, or to die too.” Abby explained, “Tomorrow, a few kids from school are going to play. You should come too.” 

“Will both of you be there?” Justin asked. 

“Yup! Nina will have to sneak out, but we’ll be there.” Abby nodded, “So do you want to?” 

Justin nodded, “Sure. Sounds fun. Maybe I should be Slenderman?” He laughed a little. But, it sounded like a real laugh, different from the fake tone his laughs had taken before. 

It was scary. 

“Sounds great!” Abby nodded, “I’ll ask the others today about it.” 

“Please do.” Justin nodded, casting a glance at Nina. Now that she was close, she could tell his eyes were just a dark brown rather than black. 

But they were still cold, almost lifeless. 

Nina looked down the road once again, seeing the bus coming up. 

“Well, looks like it's time to go.” She smiled a bit, stretching. The busdriver only let two people sit in each seat, so it would be just her and Abby. Besides that, even if Justin sat near them, the busdriver was strict about people turning around in their seats, or even leaning in the aisle or talking too loud in the mornings. 

So it would be hard for Abby to keep any conversation going with Justin. 

“Oh! Justin, do you want to sit with me? I can tell you more about the school and about the Slenderman game!” Abby grabbed Justin’s arm.

Unless she did that. 

“Hmm? Wouldn’t you rather sit with Nina?” Justin questioned, allowing Abby to continue holding his arm. 

“We sit together every day.” Abby replied, looking at Nina. “This is fine, right?” 

_ No.  _

“Sure, do what you want.” Nina shrugged as the bus pulled up, “The new guy probably needs a good introduction to the school anyways.” 

The doors opened. 

“Great!” Abby smiled, “Then it's settled. I’ll see you in homeroom.” 

“Right. Are you planning on walking home today, or are you taking the bus?” Nina asked as she stepped on. 

“I’ll take the bus. No point in walking if you have to go straight home.” Abby replied, following Nina on, dragging Justin behind her.

“Right, no point.” 

_ Besides talking and actually hanging out.  _

Normally, Nina wouldn’t get so jealous when Abby liked a guy. After all, it would last a week, or at most a month, before she either moved on, got rejected, or dated him for a while. It was an easy pattern, and Nina normally just laughed it off. And in this case, she would laugh it off too.

If Justin didn’t give her such a bad feeling, she’d be okay with it. 

Nina walked to the back of the bus on her own, sitting in the very last seat. Normally, she’d sit toward the middle of the back with Abby, but if it was just her, the very back seemed to be the best.

Besides, the two windows gave her extra light to do her homework by. Nina looked forward for a moment, seeing that Abby was sitting in their usual spot with Justin. It looked like Abby was doing most of the talking, which was to be expected. 

Nina unzipped her bookbag, taking out a pencil, her homework, and her binder to write on. 

Regardless of her bad feeling, she needed to get her homework done before school so she wouldn’t end up in trouble. 

And with that, she started on her work. For the most part, it was easy for her to ignore what went on around her as kids got on the bus. The elementary schoolers up front were a bit loud, but that was still fine. 

A middle schooler screamed. 

The bus driver yelled at her to be quiet. 

The kid in front of Nina was snoring. 

Some girl sat beside Nina, she didn’t care to look who. 

Abby got a little loud, talking about Mr. Denton and how mean of a teacher he was. 

The bus driver yelled at her to be quiet too. 

Nina kept working. 

She felt Justin’s eyes on her for a bit, but she didn’t look up. 

The bus driver yelled for him to face forward. 

The middle schooler screamed again. 

The bus driver threatened to stop the bus and make her walk. 

Nina kept working. 

The bus picked up more kids. 

Things got a little louder. 

Nina kept working. 

After a while, the Nina finished her homework, slipping it back into her bag as the bus pulled up to the school. In total, the school had four buses, all of which were completely full. They probably needed another bus at some point, but no one really complained too much. 

The high schoolers got of first as always. Nina stood up, noticing who was beside her now. 

It was just Marie, a freshman. Nina sighed a bit, picking her bag back on. Marie got up as well, starting to walk down the aisle. Justin and Abby were already getting off, Abby dragging him along as she continued to talk happily. 

Nina squeezed her way through the bevy of people, annoyed by the children hanging into the aisle. Most of them could fit full on their seat and were just choosing to be a hindrance, which only made it more annoying. 

But, she still managed to get off the bus. 

Surprisingly, Abby had waited for her. 

Unsurprisingly, so had Justin. 

“Come on Nina. Let’s help Justin find his classes before school starts.” Abby smiled brightly. 

Nina gave a short nod, “Alright, what classes does he have?” She might as well go along with Abby for the moment.  After all, it's not like she had anything better to do, and she didn’t feel okay leaving Abby all alone with Justin. For some reason, Nina thought only bad things would happen if she did that. 

“Take a look.” Justin dug a piece of paper out of his bookbag, handing it to Nina, who uncrumpled it, looking it over.

Great, they had a lot of the same classes. 

“Well...First off, you have Mr. Denton first period, then him again for homeroom...Mrs. Louis for second....Mr. Neile for third...Then again for fourth...Fifth is homeroom, so Denton...Sixth you have study hall B...Seventh you have Mrs. Geiles...And lastly Mrs. Smith.” Nina read off his teachers, “So I guess Denton’s room should be our first stop, then Geiles, Neile, Louis, and then Study hall room B.” 

Abby nodded, still clinging to Justin’s arm. “Alright! Lead the way~!” She hummed a bit. 

Justin nodded, though for a moment it looked like he gave Nina an almost pleading look, before saying, “Abby, can you let go of me? It’s hard to walk like this...” He let out another dry, fake chuckle. 

“It's fine as long as we step together, right?” Abby replied, making Nina understand the look. Even Justin didn’t want Abby clinging to him. 

They agreed on that point at least.

“Abby, why don’t you let him go and we can all walk in a group rather than with me ahead of you?” Nina sighed, taking her friend’s arms and removing them from Justin. 

“Fine.” Abby pouted a bit, before smirking and nudging Nina, “I can tell your jealous, so I’ll just hang onto you for a bit.” She said, quickly grabbing Nina’s arm. Yeah, she prefered it this way.

“Let’s go then.” Nina started walking, easily stepping in sync with Abby so it was easy to move. Justin nodded, going back to a purely fake smile as he followed, walking on the other side of Nina. 

“Mr. Denton first, correct?” He asked. Nina nodded, walking into the building. 

On instinct, Nina moved away from Justin slightly as she started walking down the halls. 

Left turn. 

Go straight for ten classes.

Right turn.

Go straight four classes. 

Right again. 

Straight for five classes. 

Stop. 

Nina nodded toward the wooden door, “Mr. Denton, junior lit. teacher.” 

“And the meanest one in school!” Abby piped up. 

“You shouldn’t speak about a man like zat when he isn’t here.” A male with a rather thick french accent spoke up from behind the trio, causing Nina to jump a bit, turning to see who it was.

The male in front of them looked to be in his early thirties, or possibly late twenties. He had wavy, beautiful shoulder length blond hair and sparkling sapphire eyes. On his chin, there was a bit of facial hair, which made him look rather mature. 

“Who are you?” Abby was the first to speak up as she stared at the male. 

Ah great, two male crushes in one day.

“I am your substitute teacher well Monsieur Denton is away.” The male replied, “You can call me Mr. Bonnefoy.” 

“Where is Mr. Denton?” Nina questioned. 

Not like she was upset that asshat was gone. She was just curious.

“He took a vacation to France for a little while. I’m not sure when he’ll be back. I’d stay forever if I were him. It's a beautiful country.” 

“Aren’t you a bit bias?” Justin spoke up. To Nina, it looked like he was trying to stare Mr. Bonnefoy down. 

“Maybe a little. And who might you be Monsieur...?” Mr. Bonnefoy asked. It looked like he was staring Justin down as well. 

“A new student starting today, Justin.” Once again, he didn’t give his last name. 

“Well, it appears we are both new, so let's get long.” Mr. Bonnefoy smiled, flipping his hair back a bit. 

“Right, well, we should continue to tour.” Nina spoke up, unsure of what to do with the two of them looking at eachother like they were, “You have five more classes to see.”

“Yeah, we should get going.” Justin agreed.

“Right.” Abby nodded, keeping her cheery smile, “See you in class Mr. Bonnefoy!” She chirped, before starting to walk again, dragging Nina with her, Justin trailing a little ways behind.

The rest of the tour went by without anything special happening. They went to a class, they moved on. 

Abby also took upon herself to derail them to show Justin other spots around the school that she thought were important. 

The ignored storage closet where she and Nina often hid from teachers, or sometimes from each other. Nina didn’t really like that he was being shown that, but she kept her mouth shut.

The cafeteria, which was probably important for him to know, so Nina had no complaints. 

Guidance office, the regular office, and  the athletics office.

The door up to the roof, which was almost always locked, but Nina had gotten good at picking it, so she and Abby often hung around up there. Another place Nina didn’t particularly want him to know about.  Still, she didn’t say anything. 

Then, the warning bell rang. Nina had barely noticed, but twenty minutes had gone by since they got to school. She hadn’t even thought about grabbing breakfast, but she was realizing now that she was hungry. 

Oh well, nothing she could do about it now. It wasn’t the first time she had gotten so caught up in morning antics with Abby that she had forgotten to eat. She could wait a couple of hours for lunch. 

“Let’s go to class then.” Nina spoke up, glancing at Justin. For the last twenty minutes since they had spoken with Mr. Bonnefoy, his eyes had rarely left her. “You and I have first together, but Abby has art.” 

Abby nodded, letting go of Nina’s arm. “Yup! It sucks, but I won’t see you guys for a little while.” 

“Not until third.” Nina nodded, “Anyways, before we’re all late, we should go.” She started to walk once more, Justin quickly moving to be beside her. Nina heard Abby walk off in the other direction. 

“So, I guess you and I are stuck alone together for a while.” Justin looked down at her, wearing the same smile as always.

“Yeah, our schedules look almost identical.” Nina replied, “It's pretty odd.” 

“Yeah, I guess it is.” Justin hummed a bit, “Maybe it was done on purpose?” 

“Who would put us in the same classes on purpose?” Nina rolled her eyes a bit, “There really isn’t any reason to.” 

“Maybe there is.” Justin replied. 

“And what reason would that be?” Nina asked. 

“”Who knows.” Justin shrugged a bit, his smile not leaving his face. Something about his tone said he knew something she didn’t. 

But, Nina got the feeling that questioning him wouldn’t do her any good. After all, there was no real reason for her to think he actually knew anything she wouldn’t know. Justin was just another highschooler. The new kid who just  happend to be a little creepy. He was probably just socially awkward or something. 

That wasn’t any reason to be so suspicious of him.

So, it would be better to at least make an attempt to be friends with him. 

“So, Justin, where did you move here from?” Nina questioned, stuffing her hands in her pockets. 

“I’ve lived all over the place, but I just moved here from Chicago.” 

“Huh, from a big city to this kind of place. Huge change.” Nina put on a smile, looking forward.

“Yeah, this town is pretty backwoods. I like it so far though. It's quiet ...Well for now. I mean, who knows what could shake this place up in the future.” Justin let out a low chuckle.

Another strange and unnerving statement. 

“I guess that's not wrong...But I’d rather nothing happen. I like things the way they are here.” Nina replied, the smile leaving her face. 

“You can’t stop the future.” Justin replied. “Nothing stays the same forever, you should know that really well by this point in your life...Old lady.” 

“Hey! Who are you calling old?” Nina turned her head to look at him, “You're the same age as me, aren’t you?” 

“Hmm...Maybe.” Justin shrugged, walking ahead a bit, “Or not.” 

“You either are or you aren’t.” Nina replied, rolling her eyes as she picked up her pace to catch up, the warning bell ringing. 

Justin simply shrugged as he strolled into the classroom, wearing a smirk. 

Nina followed with a sigh, quickly going to her seat in the back center as the bell rang. She didn’t get a chance to sit as the announcements came on with the pledge, and everyone else who was in the room stood to do it, facing the flag that hung above the clock in the back of the room. 

Once that was over, she sat as the room fell into silence for a moment, before the announcements continued, and kids started talking again. 

Mr. Bonnefoy stood in the back of the room as well, watching the class. Justin had taken a seat near Nina, but thankfully, he couldn’t sit next to her. The seats on either side of her had been taken by the Andrews twins, Audrey and Drake. She had never been happier to be sandwiched between the twins. For some reason, they always sandwiched her like that when they had classes together. Audrey said it was because Nina looked enough like them that they could be triplets, and she liked confusing substitute teachers on who was who. 

Even with the two of them being different genders, they were still almost identical.

Audrey, like Nina, wore her blonde hair back and braided. Though, unlike Nina, Audrey prefered to have two little braids rather than one thick, long one. Audrey also had blue eyes just like Nina’s, only her’s were lighter, almost grey. The same went for Drake’s. 

During the winter, when Drake let his hair grow out, he almost looked like  Audrey’s sister rather than her brother. The same went for Audrey when she cut her hair short in the summer. 

And Nina looked to be the middle sibling when the three were together. When she had first started coming to school, she had found that annoying. After all, even if they knew Nina, from her point of view, they were strangers that followed her around and expected her to play along with them. 

Now, she found it just as amusing as they did, of course, to trick substitutes. So, the fact that she hadn’t introduced herself to Mr. Bonnefoy would only help that. 

The class watched as Mr. Bonnefoy went to the front of the room, smiling brightly. He introduced himself once again, and explained where Mr. Denton was once again. Then, attendance. 

“Audrey Andrews?” He questioned. 

“Here!” Nina piped up, raising her hand. Mr. Bonnefoy rose a brow, giving a small, very knowing, smile. 

“Ouais, t'as raison.” He laughed. Of course, Nina didn’t understand what he said, but he continued with attendance. 

“Drake Andrews?” 

“Here.” Drake mumbled, barely audible as he rose his hand as well. Mr. Bonnefoy continued. 

“Haily Bright?”

“Here sir!” 

“Charlotte Benson?”

“Right here! Just call me Lotte sir!” 

“Jackson Carlson?” 

“Yo.” 

“...Justin Carter?” 

Justin rose his hand in an aloof manner, “Here.”

So Carter was his last name? Why did Mr. Bonnefoy seem so hesitant to say it? It didn’t matter, Mr. Bonnefoy continued as soon as he marked Justin as being present. 

“Kyle Fremont?” 

Kyle didn’t reply as he raised his hand.

“Louis Jefferson?” 

The same went for Louis as he didn’t even bother to take his headphones off. He was too cool. 

“Nina Stevens?” 

“Yup yup!” Audrey raised her hand this time with a bright, beaming smile. 

“You two know I’m no idiot, oui?” Mr. Bonnefoy looked at Nina and Audrey with a smile, “Monsieur Denton left pictures on the attendance sheets.” 

“Oh darn.” Audrey laughed.

“Damn.” Nina mumbled with a small smile. Mr. Denton had never done that for a sub before, but it seemed he was wising up to the antics of the blondes in the back. 

“Well, we’ve been caught, too bad.” Nina shrugged, leaning back, keeping her smile. 

Mr. Bonnefoy laughed as well. It was a weird sounding laugh, like “ohonhonhon”. But, it was a good laugh. 

And, from there, class continued as normal until the bell rang. 

Nina stood up, stretching and grabbing her bag. Onto the next class. 

Though, because she didn’t really have to, and she also didn’t really want to, she left the classroom without Justin. He could find his way to their second period on his own. 

He was a big boy after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to split the chapter into two parts, since it was getting kind of long. So, look forward to part two as well.


End file.
